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| Other ] for googol include '''ten duotrigintillion''' on the ], '''ten thousand sexdecillion''' on the ], or '''ten sexdecilliard''' on the ]. | Other ] for googol include '''ten duotrigintillion''' on the ], '''ten thousand sexdecillion''' on the ], or '''ten sexdecilliard''' on the ]. | ||
| A googol has no particular significance in mathematics, but is useful when comparing with other very large quantities such as the number of ] in the visible universe or the number of hypothetically possible ] moves |
A googol has no particular significance in mathematics, but is useful when comparing with other very large quantities such as the number of ] in the visible universe or the number of hypothetically possible ] moves. Edward Kasner used it to illustrate the difference between an unimaginably large number and ], and in this role it is sometimes used in teaching mathematics. | ||
| ==See also== | ==See also== | ||
Revision as of 00:32, 8 October 2011
Template:Two other uses A googol is the large number 10, that is, the digit 1 followed by 100 zeros:
- 10,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000
The term was coined in 1938 by 9-year-old Milton Sirotta (1929–1981), nephew of American mathematician Edward Kasner. Kasner popularized the concept in his book Mathematics and the Imagination (1940).
Other names for googol include ten duotrigintillion on the short scale, ten thousand sexdecillion on the long scale, or ten sexdecilliard on the Peletier long scale.
A googol has no particular significance in mathematics, but is useful when comparing with other very large quantities such as the number of subatomic particles in the visible universe or the number of hypothetically possible chess moves. Edward Kasner used it to illustrate the difference between an unimaginably large number and infinity, and in this role it is sometimes used in teaching mathematics.
See also
References
- Kasner, Edward and Newman, James R., Mathematics and the Imagination, 1940, Simon and Schuster, New York. ISBN 0-486-41703-4
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